The Most Incredible Underdog Story in Sporting History

The Most Incredible Underdog Story in Sporting History.
Football is by far the most popular sport in the world, and by quite some distance. It’s followed
by fans across the globe, even by nations which aren’t known for the football prowess. What is it
about this sport that attracts eyeballs from everywhere? Here’s a quick tale that will perhaps
explain some of the allure of the sport.
To explain this remarkable story, a quick primer on the English Football League system is necessary. It
consists many leagues, interconnected by the principle of promotions and relegations. A certain
number of the best performing teams in a league are promoted to a league higher in the pyramid while
an equal number of teams are relegated to a lower league. They are often referred to by their “tier”. The
league highest in the pyramid is the Premier League, the first tier of English Football. Next in the
hierarchy is the Championship, the second tier. The third tier is the Division One. While there are many
more leagues, this much information will suffice for now.
The points system is simple - winning a match gets you three points, a draw gets you 1 point, and a
loss means get 0 points.
The Premier League is the richest and most watched league in the world. It features 20 teams contesting
for the trophy. Teams play 38 games over 9 grueling months and the team which finishes with the most
points is crowned the winner, without any playoff games or a grand finale. What this means is that it is
not possible for a team to win on the back of fleeting form in one or two crucial games. Only the team
which sustains their form for the entire tournament can emerge as the winner.
Unlike other sporting leagues such as the IPL, most football leagues don’t have salary caps, and the
Premier League is no exception. A team with more money is allowed to spend more money. Teams with
more financial clout often spend more on individual players than most teams can afford to spend on their
entire squads. It’s a ruthless system in which the rich get richer.
So, it’s no surprise that since its inception in 1992, 25 of the 27 trophies have been shared by just 4
teams out of 49 teams that have competed - Manchester United have won it 13 times, Chelsea 5 times,
Manchester City 4 times, and Arsenal 3 times. All are teams with deep pockets.
There are two exceptions - Blackburn Rovers in the 1994-95 season, and Leicester City in the 2015-16
season.
Blackburn, while languishing in the second tier of English football today, was a force to be reckoned with
in the 90s. They had strong finishes in both the seasons preceding the apex season, finishing 4th in 1992-
93 and 2nd in 1993-94. Alan Shearer, the Premier League’s greatest goal scorer ever, played for this
side. These factors, in combination with the fact that the disparity between teams wasn’t as stark in the
early days of the Premier League, gives some context to their triumph. It wasn’t an anomaly.
In 2015, Leicester City was not a team rich in its history and glory. Mired in mediocrity, they often
struggled to finish in the top half and even spent substantial time fighting in the lower leagues. Before
2015, their highest ever finish in the Premier League was 8th, all the way back in 1999. Their longest
stretch of football played in the lower leagues extended from 2004 to 2014, dropping to even the 3rd tier
in 2007-08, although rising up to the 2nd tier in 2008-09 again. They only returned to the Premier League
in 2014, after the long wait of a decade.
Teams often struggle in their first few seasons following promotion owing to the gap in quality of play and
difference in finances. To say that Leicester struggled in their first season back would be an
understatement.
The Return to the Premier League
While Leicester’s season started off strongly, they failed to keep the tempo up. After defeating
Manchester United, a giant of Europe, and losing only one game in their first 5, they failed to win any of
the following 16 matches. They entered the so-called “relegation zone” for the first time after their 11th
match, when they lost to Southampton and fell to 18th place. The relegation zone refers to the bottom
three positions in the points table. Teams which finish in these places are demoted the lower league at
the end of the season. They briefly escaped it after their 12th match but fell plummeted to 20th
immediately after. On 29th November, they entered the entered the relegation zone, where they would
stay for a long time.
Relegation looked all but certain as the season was drawing to a close. They could only muster 4 wins out
of 29 games, had only 19 points to their name and were still firmly in 20th place with only 9 games to go.
What followed this was one of the greatest heists in Premier League history. Leicester turned their season
around, and managed to win 7 games of their last 9 games. They lost only one match during this
incredible run of form, against Chelsea. They finally escaped the relegation zone on 25th April, 2015, after
5 long months. They ended the season in a respectable position of 14th, considering their position for
much of the season. They were going to survive in the Premier League for at least another season. Little
did anyone know, they weren’t just going to survive, they were going to thrive.
The 2015-16 Season

Despite the plucky escape in the previous season, expectations for Leicester were not high at the start of
the season. In fact, they were deemed the most likely to get relegated this season by many experts.
A scandal involving three players, including the manager’s son, resulted in the ouster of the manager
Nigel Pearson and the three players. The manager who had guided them led to club back to the Premier
League and seen them through the tumultuous first season would no longer be at the helm. The club was
in disarray.
The manager appointed to replace him, Claudio Ranieri, elicited ambivalent responses. His most recent
job was with the Greek national team, where his performance was dismal. His contract with Greece was
terminated following a humiliating defeat against Faroe Islands, population 51,000, in the qualifiers for the
UEFA Euro 2016 tournament.
His last managerial experience in the Premier League was in 2004, when he managed Chelsea before
being shown the door. Since then, he had lacklustre performances with various Italian teams.
Foreshadowing what was to come, he had also been in-charge of another club which hit well above its
weight. He had helped AC Monaco win promotion to the top tier of French football in 2012-13 and led
them to a 2nd place finish in 2013-14.
Leicester’s most high-profile signing this season, N’golo Kante, was unexciting, their squad was full of
unknown players and rejects from other clubs, and they had a manager whose most recent job had ended
in disaster. The writing was on the walls. But they persevered.
The season got off to a flying start, as they went undefeated in their first 6 games. Their first loss in the
season came against Arsenal in their 7th game - a humbling 2-5 defeat at home. Yet, with the help of
their talismanic striker Jamie Vardy, they marched on undeterred.
Jamie Vardy’s story is as incredible as any. Till the age of 25, he played football with semi-professional
sides. Driven by determination and passion, he played football despite working 12 hours shifts at a
factory. For 7 years he played with Stocksbridge Park Steels, earning a meagre £30 each week. He
finished as the top scorer of both the 6th tier and 5th tier of football in 2010 and 2011 respectively with
different clubs to establish a name for himself. Leicester City took notice and bought him for a non-
League record fee of £1,000,000 in 2012.
He proved his worth in 2013, helping Leicester return to the Premier League after scoring 16 goals in that
season. While uninspiring in the first season in the Premier League, he came into his own in 2015.
He found the back of the net with incredible consistency. Starting with the 4th match against Tottenham,
he scored goals in the next 10 consecutive matches. During this rampage, he broke the record for most
consecutive goals scored in the Premier League, a record previously held by Manchester United’s
legendary Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Quite poetically, he broke the record against Manchester United
themselves in their 14th match of the season.
They had been in the last position on Christmas day the previous year. This year, they were in pole
position. With their previously unknown players pulling off incredible feats, they brushed aside giants of
English football with ease. Claudio Ranieri had his revenge against Chelsea as they defeated them in
both the ties between the two teams. A highlight of their season came in their 25th match, against
Manchester City, the favorites to win the title at the start of the season. Faced against a side whose most
expensive player was worth twice as much as their entire team combined, they stood unfazed. City were
humiliated at their home stadium in a 1-3 loss, with Leicester plays carving up their defense with ease.
With this victory, Leicester finally put an end to the talks about their inevitable collapse.
On the 3rd of May, the football world watched with bated breath as Tottenham took the field against
Chelsea. While it was certain that Leicester were going to finish at the top of the points table following
their win against Crystal Palace on the previous day, Tottenham could mathematically finish at level
pegging. Any result short of a win would change that.
Chelsea clawed their way back after conceding a two-goal lead, scoring the equalizer in the 83rd minute.
Tottenham, desperate to win, committed as many as 20 fouls in the match, earning 9 yellow cards in the
process. Despite all, they failed to take the lead again.
The world of football erupted in joy. Leicester were not alone in their celebrations. In a world where
games of football were increasingly being decided by money, Leicester City had pulled off the impossible.
They had overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to show that at the end of the day, you just need to
play good football.
In many ways, it was more than just a game of football that was being celebrated, it was a triumph of spirit
and perseverance. They held their nerves against even the most daunting of opponents to emerge
victorious.
However, fairy tales don’t last. Claudio Ranieri was fired the next season, as Leicester finished a
disappointing 12th. It was the lowest a defending champion had ever finished. The exceptional talents
that Leicester had fostered left for richer teams. While still a strong team in the Premier League, the
universe was in order again as Chelsea and Manchester City won the subsequent seasons. The world of
sport, however, had already seen the most incredible underdog story there ever was. Leicester had given
the world a tale that won’t be forgotten.

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The Most Incredible Underdog Story in Sporting History.

The 2015-16 Season

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